Morak Sisters vaudeville photo album
Scope and Content
A photo album of the Morak Sisters aerial and dance troupe, featuring their tour across Canada in 1918, created circa 1926. The follow locations were visited: Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; Brandon, Manitoba; and Weyburn and Regina, Saskatchewan. The album was presumably created by one of the sisters, based off of the more personal tone of the photos. The album features photos of the sisters and their entourage as they toured Canada. Subjects include: outdoor performances of their aerial show, the sisters in costume and every day dress, as well as many traveling group shots. The album also has some newsclippings about the sisters and their performances.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1926
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions.
Use Restrictions
Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.
Biographical and Historical Information
The Morak Sisters (sometimes spelled Morok) were a Belgian vaudeville aerial and dance troupe that toured Canada and the United States in the late 1910s and 1920s, performing as early as 1918 and as late as 1927. The troupe was sometimes billed as the "Four Morak Sisters" or "Morak Sisters & Co." Three of the sisters were named Therese, Louise, and Anna, with one sister likely being named Sadie. The sisters were managed by Fernand Morak. By 1927, the act reduced to three sisters.
A January 1, 1921 edition of "The Billboard" described the Morak Sisters' act: "“[T]he Morok [sic] Sisters, a quartet of personally attractive girls, performed hazardous aerial feats while hanging by the teeth from aerial rotating swinging bars, interspersing their aerial swings with stage poses that were admirable.”
Extent
.5 Linear Feet (1 item)
Language of Materials
French
Abstract
A photo album of the Morak Sisters aerial and dance troupe, featuring their tour across Canada in 1918, created circa 1926.
Arrangement
This is a single item collection.
Physical Location
R 72, C 3, S 5
Acquisition Information
Purchased by Lynn Eaton from Caroliniana books in July 2020.
Bibliography
"Dance Review to be Seen at Palace[.]" Indianapolis Times. January 22, 1927. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=IPT19270122.1.7&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------. Accessed August 4, 2022.
"The Four Morak Sisters[.]" Vaudeville America. http://vaudevilleamerica.org/performance/the-four-morak-sisters/. Accessed August 4, 2022.
"Guide to the Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection[.]" Brooklyn Public Library. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/sites/default/files/documents/brooklyn-collection/Brooklyn%20Theater%20Playbills%20and%20Programs.pdf. Accessed August 4, 2022.
Processing Information
Processing completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022. Finding aid completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022.
Topical
- Title
- Guide to Morak Sisters vaudeville photo album
- Subtitle
- Morak Sisters vaudeville photo album
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Amanda Menjivar
- Date
- August 2, 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center Repository
Fenwick Library, MS2FL
4400 University Dr.
Fairfax Virginia 22030 United States
703-993-2220
703-993-8911 (Fax)
speccoll@gmu.edu
